Photographic-shutter mechanism.



W. F. FOLMER.. PHOTOGBAPHIC SHUTTER MECHANISM. APPLlCATlON FILED OCT. 25. 1915.

1,266,443. Patented May 14, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

IN VENTOR.

///I$ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM F. FOLMER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A S SIGNOR TO EASTMAN KODAK COM- rm, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

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['0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. FOLMER If Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain 1ew and useful Improvements in Photographic-Shutter Mechanism; and I do here- )y declare the followin to be a full, clear,

vill last well under hard usage. A further )bject ,of theinvention is to provide shutter mechanism particularly adapted for use in 1. camera desi ed for the purpose of makng photoglrap ic records of gas and electric neter rea ings and for use in conjunction vith film feeding mechanism such as de- :cribe(l and claimed in my com anion aplication Serial No. 57,665; filed ctober 25, .915. The improvements are directed in part oward combining the shutter mechanism vith an electric switch mechanism whereby he object illuminating devices of the camera pme under the control of the shutter mechanism. To these and other ends the inention resides in certain improvements and :ombinations of parts all as will be herein- Lfter'more fully described, the novel feanres being pointed out in the claims at the :nd of the specification.

In the drawings: a

Figure 1 is aside elevation of a. camera :onstructed in accordance with and illusrating one embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a central vertical section therehrough;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged but fra entary ransverse section taken substantia y on the ine 3-3 of. Fig. 2 showing the shutter mechanism in front elevation;

Fi 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showng t e parts in a different position;

' ig. 5 is a detail fragmentary section aken substantially on the l1ne 55 of Fig. 3 show certain parts of the circuit arrangement, and

6 is a detail fra entary sectlon aken substantially on the ine 66 of Fig. i for the same purpose.

Specification of Letters IPatent.

Application filed October as, 1915. Serial m. 57,868.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several figures indicate the same parts; The construction and general purposes of the camera as a whole will first be described.

The body thereof is divided'at or near the center into two casings A and B separable along the joint indicated at 1 to give access to the interior of the casing A at the rear thereof and held togther by a suitable catch 2. At the front of section A is a light cham-. her 3 containing object illuminating devices 4: in the present form of electric lamps. In use, .the open front of the camera is laid close against the face of the meter so thatthe latter is practically in the chamber 3 and brilliantly illuminated by the lamps 4. These lamps are supplied through a circuit leading from batteries occupying upper and lower chambers 6 in case A on opposite sides of a light passage 7 leading rearwardly from the light chamber 3. The complete circuit cannot be given at. this pointin the de- Patented May 14, 1918. 4

scription but so far as it is comprised within the front casing A it comprises a contact a at the front of each chamber 6 connected to one terminal of the lamps 4t and the lamp carrying plate 4, respectively, 'the first terminals of the lamps being connected by a wire 5, and contact plates 0 at the rear ends of the respective chambers. The batteries in each chamber are carried in a removable. casing 5 and connected up together in the manner clearly shown or in any preferred way and the terminals (1 and 6 thereof connect with the contacts a and 0, respectively, when the containers are in place in the chambers 6. The latter are accessible from the rear of the casin A for the insertion and removal of the atteries when the casing B is separated therefrom.

The casing B contains a shutter chamber 8 in rear of 113s front Wall 8, two film chambers .9 and 10 and an intermediate exposure or dark chamber 11. A partition 12 forming the front walls of the chambers 9, l0 and 11 carries the lens tube 13 in alinemen't with the exposure chamber 11 and the light passage 7 with which latter it communicates through an opening 14 in the front wallof section B and an opening 15 in a partition at the rear of passage 7. The film 16 is fed from a supply spool 17 over rolls 18 and 19 through the focal plane'adjacent the e 0- sure opening 20 at the rear of the charm r 11 to a winding or take-up spool 21 ar- 'tion 12. A spring 41 normally hol ranged in the lower chamber 10. The partitions 22 separating the chambers 9," 10 and. 11 and the partition 12 connecting, them are all carried with one of the side Walls 23 of the casing B and are withdrawn from the latter by taking off this side wall. There is a wall 24 opposite to this side wall closing the other ends of the chambers which also comes out and helps to support the spools 17 and 21 and the rollers 18 and 19 so that all of these parts together with the lens tube 13 and the shutter mechanism to be hereinafter described are carried by the removable structure and the casing B 1s merely a box containing the latter.

There is a spring contact finger'25 on an inner wall of the casing B connected with a metal strip 26 (Figs. in a contact 27 extending through the front wall 8 of easing B and engaging contact a when the two casings are pressed together while a spring contact arm 28 (Figs. 3 and 5) on the removable wall 23 is connected by a strap 29, when the wall is in place, to a strap 30 joined to a contact 31 also extending through the front casing wall '8 and engaging the other contact 0 in the front casing. It will be seen from this that an electrical connection between the two contact arms 25 and 28 will close the circuit' through the batteries and lamps and energize the latter. Such completion of the circuit is established through the shutter mechanism which will now be described.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 3 and 4, there is carried by the lens tube 13 a fixed plate 32 upon which is pivoted at 34 a shutter leaf 33 that normally covers the end of the lens tube by reason of its own weight and the action of. a spring 35. On the far side of its pivot, the leaf is provided with a laterally projecting pin 36 adapted to be engaged by a link 37 pivoted at 38 to an operating lever 39 pivoted at 40 to the (partis the operating lever in raised position while a spring 44 normally holds an arm 46 on the link 37 against a lip 45 on the operating lever 39 and maintains the link in proper position to engage the pin 36 when the lever is depressed. Such engagement raises or opens the shutter leaf 33 which is later allowed to close by reason of the cam engaging face 47 on the link slipping off of the projection 36 after it comes into contact with a fixed pin or abutment 42 on an extension 43 of the plate 32. This position is shown in Fig. 4, the shutter having already closed and the operatlng lever 39 being in its extreme deressed position. As the lever 39 returns, a

ateral cam face 48 on the link 37 rides against the projection 36 but the force of its spring 44 1s exerted in such a direction by reason of the engagement being with another sideof the prqection 36 that the tend- 5 and 6) terminatingency is to close rather than open the shutter leaf. When the cam surface 48 clears the projection, the arm 46 goes back into engagement with the lip 45, as shown in Flg. 3, and the link is agam ready for a subsequent operation of the shutter,

When the structure within the casing B 1s assembled. therewith, the pivot 40 of the shutter operating lever 39 makes connection with the spring contact 25, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5 and the strap 29 from the spring contact 28 makes connection with the strap 30 and contact 31 as previously explained. Thus, the break-in the electrical circuit is between the operating lever 39 and the spring contact 28 and these arts act as a switch. When the lever 39 is epressed to actuate the shutter, the lip 45 thereon rides against the contact 28 and closes the circuit and as it will be seen that the engaging fac of the contact arm 28 is relatively long, the contact is maintained both during the opening of the shutter leaf 33 and during the interval that it is held open. A sustained illumination of the object by means of the lamps 4 is therefore assured and the length of the exposure may be regulated by the rapidity with which the stroke of the operating lever 39 is made, though after the shutter has closed, the contact is immediately broken as is shown by Fig. 4.

The shutter mechanism will be seen to be of simple and substantial construction and positive in its action and well adapted to withstand hard and constant usage.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a photographic camera, the combination with an object illuminating means, an electric circuit including the same and a contact surface in said circuit, of a shutter and a shutter operating member also in the circuit and normally out of engagement with the contact the operative throw of which member brushes it across the contact and opdt of engagement therewith on the opposite s1 e.

2. In a photographic camera, the combination with an object illuminating means, an

electric circuit including the same. and a contact member in said circuit, of a shutter and a shutter operating member also in the circuit and having a slip-ofi connection with in normal position .jection on the lever arranged to engage the contact-member during the actuation of the shutter andrclose the circuit and a spring normally operating to hold the link against the pro ect1on' on the lever as a stop definingzlilts shutter engaging position.

4. a hotographicicamera, the combination'wit 'a support having a fixed abutment, a shutter leaf pivoted to the support and provided with an eccentric abutment and means tending to move the leafto closed position, of an operating lever for the shutter leaf and a, yielding link pivoted' thereto and having a cam surfaceadapted, during J the operative movement of the lever, to first 15 engage the projection on the leaf and move the latter to open deflected by the flied abutment and release the leaf r WILLIAM F. FOLMER.

Witnesses:v I

Rusmr. B. Gm'n'rn, Acmazs Nnsnn'i'\lrssmrm.

position and to then be 

